Arkansas is influenced by the Hopewell Culture through trade and rituals. -Large earthen mounds are built by the Plum Bayou culture in central Arkansas.
The Mississippians thrive on agriculture and build towns. The St. Francis River becomes the home of the Parkin Indians. See: Berry, Trey. The Arkansas Journey. Gibbs Smith, 2007, pp. 32-3.
Spanish conquistador, Hernando De Soto, leads the first European expedition into Arkansas.
Frenchmen Father Marquette and Louis Jolliet explore the Mississippi River and decide that it flows into the Gulf of Mexico and not the Pacific Ocean.
Renee-Robert Cavelier de La Salle was the first European to travel the length of the Mississippi River. His mission was to explore and establish fur-trade routes along the river.
Arkansas Post is founded by Henri de Tonti. Established as a trading post, travel station and Jesuit mission, it was the first European settlement in the lower Mississippi Valley.
Land speculator John Law leads a failed attempt to settle the area around Arkansas Post.
Adventurer Bernard de la Harpe travels up the Arkansas River seeking precious metals. He finds none but his journal describes the area of present-day Little Rock.
The area of land known as Louisiana becomes a royal colony of France. This includes present-day Arkansas.
As part of a larger conflict between the Chicasaw Indians and French settlers, Arkansas Post was attacked by 150 Choctaw warriors, destroying homes, killing men, and taking women and children captive.
